Lend Lease signs £1.5bn deal

The £1.5bn transformation of Elephant and Castle in south London moved a step closer today as Southwark Council agreed to enter in to a new exclusivity deal with preferred development partner Lend Lease Europe.

An original exclusivity arrangement ended on 1 July and Lend Lease has now set out a revised proposal including a new timetable for completing binding Heads of Terms and the Regeneration Agreement.

In order for the council and Lend Lease to jointly commit to this, the exclusivity agreement enables the council and Lend Lease to conduct commercial negotiations with confidence that no other developer is being considered by Southwark.

The agreement will also allow further work to continue on the ground including vital site clearance work on the Heygate estate.

Leader of Southwark Council, Cllr Nick Stanton, said: “Despite the effects of the worst national recession many of us will ever have experienced, we are very pleased to continue with Lend Lease to realise our joint ambition of transforming this historic part of south London.

"Although there remains a huge amount of work to do, Lend Lease has put forward a proposal that we believe will take us jointly to final negotiations that quantify the impact of the recession, resolve the outstanding issues and finalise an agreement which satisfies the financial and redevelopment requirements of the council and Lend Lease."